As a result of the devastation caused by the recent Asian Tsunami, support has been offered from people all around the world in order to provide aim for the survivors of this tragic event.

The prog rock community, while not receiving the widespread media attention that has been given to some fund raising efforts, has also been doing it's bit to raise money to go towards the appeal. 

A huge number of progressive rock stars have given up their time to record a single to raise money for the appeal, and here we have two different reports on the recording day that recently took place in Cardiff!

The first is from one of our regular reviewers, John Morley, who wrote the piece exclusively for New Horizons.  The second article was sent in from from Stephen Lambe, who has written reviews in the past for us, but this particular piece is intended to raise awareness of the project and has been submitted to a number of web sites (so if you read it somewhere else, you know why!)

Simon 6th February 2005

Progaid recording, Briar Bank studios, 29/30 January 2005

Located in Penarth, South Wales, Briar Bank studios was the setting for the recording of All Around The World, the song chosen for Progaid. Progaid was put together initially to raise funds for victims of the Tsunami disaster of 26^th December 2004, though it is intended for it to be a going concern to help similar causes as and when the need arises.

Assorted members of the progressive rock community had generously given up their valuable time to help record music and vocals for the song, sales of which will hopefully provide much needed funds.

All Around The World was a track originally recorded by Cyan, a project that Rob Reed of Magenta had put together some years ago. In fact Rob would be handling production duties over the weekend, ably assisted by studio engineer and co-producer Andy Edwards.

It was indeed an interesting and somewhat unique gathering of musicians, notable among them on Saturday were Pallas vocalist Alan Reed, IQ bass player John Jowitt, Landmarq singer Tracy Hitchings plus bass player Steve Gee and drummer Dave Wagstaffe, Stu Nicholson of Galahad, Nick Barrett of Pendragon, Rachel Jones (formerly of Karnataka), and assorted members of Strangefish, Fula and Blue Horses.

The studio is a converted house, with the main studio on the ground floor, and a slightly smaller studio upstairs. Musicians would gather in an adjoining house, relaxing and waiting to be called for their section to be recorded. Took a bit of organising, but it worked extremely well – everybody was patient and happy to do anything that they could to help.

Not surprisingly there was not a hint of ego to be seen anywhere, and the atmosphere was quite jovial and very friendly. In fact I heard a couple of people comment that it's actually quite rare for musicians to get a chance to sit and actually talk in such a relaxed fashion. Even if bands are on the same bill together there is rarely time to sit around and chat, due to soundchecks, loading and unloading equipment and travelling to the next gig.

From my non-musician perspective, it was fascinating to be able to wander into the studio and be in the presence of great musicians producing some incredible work – I was impressed by the amount of thought and creativity with which they approached the project. Some people had been sent copies of the original song and had come prepared with a ready-made guitar solo, keyboard part or vocal, whereas others not familiar with the track were able to improvise beautifully on the spot and come up with the goods.

Among the high points for me were being inside the recording booth taking pictures while Tracy Hitchings was recording her vocal – what an incredibly powerful voice that lady has; Watching Nick Barrett improvise his guitar solo, and after some much needed food and drink, the recording of the "Prog Chorus". This was basically everybody involved (including yours truly) gathered together in the sound booth to record the chorus for the song. It took a couple of attempts to get the unruly rabble to get it right, but it was all taken in good spirit and it turned out fine in the end.

After a rather late night fuelled by one or two beers (or was it 3?) and some great musician stories, Sunday was a much more relaxed and sedate affair.

However, the day did turn out to be something special due to the arrival of original Genesis guitarist Anthony Phillips. It is rare indeed to actually watch Anthony play live, and he played some of his trademark exquisite twelve-string guitar. Indeed he was quite the gentleman, and more than willing to provide as many takes as required, with many variations thereof. Not only this, but he discovered an old Hammond organ in the studio and was determined to get it working, which he did. It was a curiously entertaining sight to see him on his hands and knees playing the foot pedals. Not only this, but he even agreed to stay on to record a video interview with Dave Robinson of F2 records. What a man.

In addition to all of the tracks recorded on the day, other contributions were sent in by various musicians who wanted to be involved but were not able to attend, such as Roine Stolt of Flower Kings, Oliver Wakeman, IQ's Martin Orford and Arena's Clive Nolan. Neal Morse has also kindly taken time out from his European tour to record some vocals.

In addition to the musicians involved, there were several live radio interviews by local radio station Total Rock Radio conducted throughout the day, with Matt Cohen (Magenta bass player), John Jowitt, Alan Reed, Rachel Jones, Tracy Hitchings, Nick Barrett and others.

Such was the willingness of all to want to be involved there is more than enough material for the single, which to my ears really sounded something special even in it's unfinished form. As a result of this it's possible there could be a couple of alternate versions and different mixes on the eventual single, which it is hoped will be available to buy in late February/early March.

A huge thank you is due to everyone involved in the project, there are just too many people to name. And of course you can also help by purchasing the single.

And who knows – if enough interest is shown and a healthy number of copies are sold, we could be talking Progaid  - The Concert.

John Morley        31/01/05

PROGAID RECORDING SESSION. SATURDAY 29^TH JANUARY 2005.

Stephen Lambe reports from this extraordinary coming together of the British and international Progressive Rock community in aid of the Tsunami Earthquake disaster fund….

It is hardly a glamorous location for a prestigious charity recording, especially on a decidedly chilly day in mid winter, but something rather extraordinary is happening at Briar Bank Studios in the small town of Penarth, Cardiff Bay, Wales.

For this is the home of "All Around the World", a charity single to be released in March, by Progaid, a remarkable amalgamation of skills from many of the best-known bands in the British Progressive scene. There are also some crucial contributions from some key international stars such as Roine Stolt of the Flower Kings, and Neal Morse, formerly of Spock's Beard, plus members of international acts Glass Hammer, Pain of Salvation and Shadow Gallery.

But, on Saturday it was all about the British contingent, with members of Landmarq, IQ, Pallas, Karnataka, Blue Horses and Pendragon all in attendance, not to mention new kids on the block Magenta and Strangefish.

Organisers of the project, David Robinson of F2 records and Matthew Cohen of Magenta explain how the event came about:

"Originally it came about through email conversations with a guy called Nick Gielkins from Holland," says David "we just wanted to do something to help with the Tsunami relief effort.  As I know a few musicians and a few studios, I said I'd see what I could do.  I mentioned it to Matthew Cohen and Rob Reed (of Magenta), and from there the whole thing has snowballed into something much bigger than we could possibly have imagined, with over 40 musicians and journalists involved."

Since the project was first announced, little more than 3 weeks ago, there has been much speculation as to the content of the single. Many people will be surprised to learn that the chosen song is not really prog at all, but an uplifting power-ballad, entirely appropriate for this sort of occasion, but with enough space on it for each musician and singer to add their own moments of magic.  Nor is it a new song, but one written several years ago by Rob Reed and then Cyan singer Nick Voyle. Rob, as Producer, also has the daunting, yet exciting task of piecing all the contributions together. Unlike other charity singles, the instrumental contributions are as important as the vocal ones, this being prog, which leaves plenty of scope for extensive remixes and re-workings of the same song:

"Some of the stuff we've been getting in already from the musicians has been amazing, " says Matthew, "Arjen Lucassen of Aryeon has sent in some amazing guitar, we've got some great guitar and harmony vocals from Roine Stolt, some beautiful work from Troy Donockley from Iona, and Oliver Wakemans Keyboard parts are simply outstanding. The commitment shown by everyone has been fantastic."

"There's simply no mediocre work so far," agrees David "which gives us the scope to do maybe 3 or 4 different mixes.  It's amazing how different the final versions will be compared to the original Cyan track. We'll have one definitive version for radio, but while keeping the basic song structure the same, we can experiment with different musicians and singers, maybe do a heavier version and a really quiet version.  The possibilities are almost limitless, but in the end it will be up to Rob.  He's the one with the musical ear."

The whole event was covered by Jerry Ewing of Classic Rock Magazine, who provided regular updates to listeners of Total Rock Radio as the day wore on. The sessions were also videoed in an informal, fly-on-the-wall manner, with both interview and performance material taped, so a video and interview footage may also go on the single.

Recording had began on Thursday 27^th, when Allan Mason-Jones of Magenta laid down a basic drum track "just in case no other drummer turned up", and was scheduled to continue over the next few days with other musicians coming down on the Sunday, and the final session, with Neal Morse, on Tuesday 1^st February.

Plenty of other contributions from those that could not come to Penarth in person, including those from Heather Findlay and Bryan Josh of Mostly Autumn, and progressive rock legend Anthony Phillips, were expected early in February.

Of course, with so many musicians present, the day was a logistical nightmare. As individual players were invited to the studio to add their own contributions, there was plenty of time for chat, and it was almost slightly surreal to sit around a pub table and listen to Alan Reed, singer of Pallas, and John Jowitt, bass player of IQ, swap stories about life on the road, as if they had been ones friends for life.  This was certainly an egos-free zone, and Rachel Jones' comment to me was fairly typical:

"This is the first musical thing I've done since Karnataka split up," she said with a throaty laugh,  "and I've got the cold to end all colds, so I'm hoping Rob will bury me in the mix somewhere. "

Despite the tight schedule, this was never less than a good-natured day, with elder statesmen mingling freely with young pretenders. An "incident" involving a near-naked John Jowitt and a full-clothed Tracy Hitchings (of Landmarq), remains unconfirmed, but is thought highly likely.

"People would be disappointed if I kept my clothes on for the entire day", remarked the affable IQ bassist.

As the day drew to an end, it was time for the centrepiece of the occasion, and a 30-strong choir gathered together to sing the uplifting chorus.  There was no option for each of us but to "go for it", and the results sounded breathtaking.  As we sang the lyrics, which beautifully describe both a sense of despair and of hope for the future, a shiver ran down my spine, as I hope it does with everyone who hears the song for the first time.   

The next step is mixing, mastering and pressing. Then the hard work begins. Sales and Marketing.

"We have a lot of options regarding distribution", David Robinson remarked, "but as the object is to get as much money to the disaster victims as possible, we need to make sure there are as few people as possible taking a cut from the single."

Do they think the single could possibly chart in the UK?

"We're not naïve enough to assume it could do that easily, but the song is so strong, and so catchy, that people are going to be singing it for weeks, and if the radio stations that we will be targeting pick it up, people will want to buy it".

In the end, though, everyone agreed – that the only thing that matters is raising as much money for the victims of the earthquake as possible. There was a huge feeling of astonishment at the sheer scale of the Tsunami disaster, and a huge will to pool resources in the only way these people know how. By making music. 

This is only the beginning of Progaid, so watch this space for further developments, but in the meantime, this was a day to remember for a lifetime. 

For further information about Progaid and a complete who's who, visit www.progaid.com or email info@f2music.co.uk

A small gallery of shots from the day, which may be considered copyright free, can be found here!

Chris Walkdens official photographs from the recording sessions should be available shortly.